Dear Family,
Ap Kesa Ho? (How are you in
Hindi)
My new investigator Vishesh the wrestler, on the left with the red
necklace and my sunburned face and nose!!!
I had a really good week and am
still out here loving the mission field. The rain went away this week and I
think it will be coming back sometime soon, I hope so at least. I hate the heat
and I hear it's just as hot in Idaho. I am so sunburned and I can't do anything
about it, the sunscreen isn't really helping. I got blisters on my nose this
week and I'm trying to heal them right now because I don't want my nose looking
bad my entire life. Hats are okay here so I may get an Indiana Jones hat;)
Actually right after this I'm going to get some souvenirs...A Muslim prayer rug
and the caps that they wear. It's going to be legit ha-ha and they're really
cheap and most of the missionaries here get them just for fun. I figured I
could get a prayer rug and pray on it the right way for once, maybe do some
Book of Mormon study on it. I haven't had any problems with the Muslims this
week, but I did find out that the relations between Muslims and Hindus wasn't
like I thought. I figured they got along well but no. They hate each other. The
world is seriously so against Muslims. And for the most part Hindu people
really like Christians. But I guess this week somewhere in Delhi, Muslims
killed a Cow and threw it in a Hindu Temple. That's a big no-no. So to get back
at the Muslims, the Hindus killed a pig and threw it one of their mosques. Also
a huge no-no.
So the only problem or crazy
interesting thing that happened this week was this. We got a new investigator
named Shiv, and he came to English class and Church and wanted to meet last
night. So after a few lessons we were waiting for him in Najafgarh at a bus
stand and we were doing some invitations. We went up to a teenage kid and invited
him to English class and I kid you not within a minute there were 50 to 60
people surrounding us. Some wanted to know about English class and others were
just listening. Then it started creating a huge scene on the side of the road and
we wanted no part of that because all of a sudden it looks like something bad
is happening and it takes away from our message. Soon people were coming up and
asking what the problem was. Some asked if we needed help or were being given
issues, others asked if we were causing issues. So we just started to walk away
and then our investigator Shiv came. We got on a E-Rickshaw and left and hoped
that would be the end of it. It wasn't. One guy, who belongs to a political
activist group here in India called the RSS followed us about 6 kilometers to
Shiv's house. The group he belongs to is huge, especially in Mumbai and they
hate both Christians and Muslims. At least that's what I've heard from other
missionaries here. So he followed us so far and we knew he was going to be
trouble, so I was prepared if it went down, especially after half way to Shiv's
house he picked up another guy to come with him. Then at Shiv's house he
stopped us and yelled at us and was saying that we were here illegally and that
missionaries aren't allowed in India and he kept asking for our ID. He even got
so mad and was saying that if he found us illegal that he would hold Shiv
responsible. He's not going to find anything bad, but I am worried for Shiv's
safety, so maybe pray for him. He's a great guy. But the problem peaked when the
guy pushed me and almost hit my companion. I about lost my cool, but I was
mostly calm and trying to be a good representative of Christ. So I pointed
right at his face and I told him not to dare lay his hands on me or my
companion in a very stern voice. He knew I meant business. Ha-ha. We showed him
all of our identification and then just walked away which is probably what we
should've done in the first place, but he was determined to ruin our day. By
this time it was 8 pm and we had to be home as fast as possible, especially for
being a in a dangerous farm community that we had no idea was dangerous until
Shiv told us. Cool. So we taught a five minute Restoration lesson, politely
turned down his offer of Tea and his brother’s offer of whiskey and left. We
did our best to get home on time. It was a crazy night, but a very
successful day and something to write in my journal.
So with that I had a couple good
experiences this week. We have another new investigator called Vishesh. He is
the man. He is a wrestler, and that's so hard to find in India. Most of them
think wrestling is WWE. We have already taught him the first three lessons and
he accepted baptism, but he's waiting for his parent’s approval because he's
only 17. But the guy is huge and is built like a truck. Varun got really sick
this week and we couldn't meet with him it was sad. They call it the
"eye flu" but I don't know how correct that is, basically both of his
eyes are swollen shut and he can barely see. I feel bad for him, but he
keeps praying, and he tries to read the Book of Mormon but it's too hard with
being blind. Such a good kid. Bobby turned 17 on Sunday and we are going over
tonight or tomorrow night to have cake with their family.
One day this week we had some
completely solid plans, but as soon as we walked out the door they all
disappeared and everyone cancelled on us. It was tough and for the moment it
ruined our day. But we did a lot of finding and invitations and then at the
last second we got a member to have a lesson with us. Her name is Sister
Angelie, she is 16 and she and her mom are members, but her dad is not. He has
a solid testimony of the gospel, but for years has been trying to overcome a
tobacco and alcohol addiction. When we got there he was sick with a fever,
which a lot of people are having right now. We sat down on their blanketed
floor and right as we were about to start the lesson the power went out which
is common here. We always have power outages, so we went up on the roof of the
building with our flashlights, and shared a message about the Book of Mormon
and its importance in our lives. We shared the story of the Tree of Life and
the Iron rod. We used the building next to us as reference to the great and
spacious building. It was awesome. We were under the stars and overlooking much
of the Delhi area. It was like nothing else and the spirit was strong. At the
end the father asked for a blessing, and for the third time on my mission and
in my life I was able to exercise the power of the Priesthood and give a
blessing for the sick and afflicted. He came to church yesterday and we are
getting him the copies of the addiction recovery program the church has and
hopefully we can help him. He has such strong faith, that's something that has
proved to be in the majority of people here in India, is Faith. Many of them
have a knowledge of Jesus Christ and they believe he was a good man, but they
don't know any more than that. They believe in 1200 Gods in their religion so
believing in Heavenly Father as One God who loves them, and in His Son Jesus
Christ who is their brother and also loves them, naturally comes pretty easily
when the Holy Ghost testifies of the Truth.
I love you guys, so much. I miss you,
but the weeks are going by so fast and before I know it I'll be seeing you
again soon. I've already been in India for one month and almost through my
first transfer. Crazy.
Love You All
Helaman 5:12
Elder Neil Armstrong Out
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